So you have waited anywhere between 2 and 6 months to hear something from the Social Security Administration after filing your initial application. You got all that paperwork that Disability Determination Services sent you about your work and day to day life, and sent it back, filled out (and taking a lot of time and… Read more »
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SSDI Myth # 1: People on SSDI are Lazy
“Why don’t they just quit complaining and look for work like the rest of us?” As an attorney practicing exclusively in Social Security disability law, I hear these kind of misguided and misinformed assumptions about my clients all the time: “people on SSDI are lazy whiners trying to milk the system,” “drug-addicts,” “scam artists” …… Read more »
The Importance of Treating Sources
The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) rules require approved disability claims to be supported by evidence obtained by the SSA and provided by you, the claimant. Medical opinions are a common form of evidence and often form the basis of an approval or denial of a claim. Although the SSA might be able to determine whether… Read more »
Objective Medical Evidence
Lots of people ask what they can do to help make their Social Security disability case stronger. As we discussed in a previous blog entry, the Social Security Administration primarily bases its decisions on your medical record. For the SSA, the strongest type of medical evidence is called “objective medical evidence.” Objective medical evidence means… Read more »
The Initial Stage
When an individual files an application for Social Security disability benefits, there are essentially four levels an application may progress through. This post discusses the first stage of the process, the initial level. The remaining stages will be discussed in future posts. The Initial Level The first level of the disability process is commonly referred… Read more »
"Disability Insurance Causes Pain"
A recent New York Times article, “Disability Insurance Causes Pain,” categorizes Social Security disability as an unnecessary drain on our national economy. According to the article, “[d]isability insurance takes too many workers out of the job market prematurely. It reduces their lifetime income and…slows economic growth.” The article’s author, Eduardo Porter, attributes some of the… Read more »
GAF Scores
For applicants who pursue Social Security disability claims based on mental health impairments, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores can play an important role. GAF scores are made by treating providers who perform Diagnostical and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) assessments. Courts have held that Social Security must consider GAF scores when evaluating a… Read more »
Medically equaling analysis at step three of the sequential process
The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains a list of medical conditions that are so severe they automatically mean that you are disabled. If your condition is not on the list, the SSA must decide if it is of equal severity to a medical condition that is on the list. The rules state that an Administrative… Read more »
Your Medical Records and the Social Security Administration
Medical records play a crucial part in showing whether someone is eligible for Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income. Your records are the primary source used by the Social Security Administration, the state-level Disability Determination Services (DDS), and the SSA Administrative Law Judges to determine whether you are disabled under the SSA’s rules. The… Read more »
Why Hire an Attorney?
No one needs an attorney or a representative to apply for Social Security disability benefits. The process is described as “non adversarial,” which means that the Social Security Administration (SSA) tries to be accessible, and to help you through the process of applying and gathering medical evidence. However, most people find communications from the government… Read more »
